Steve still remembers that day in Manhattan when mid-fight, Tony had turned to him with his gauntlet raised. Steve had known exactly what to do.
Compared to how far they’ve come, back then, well, they'd barely known each other. But that day, without any planning or even eye contact (which is impossible for Steve to establish by the way, if Tony's inside his suit), Steve knew to lift his shield and tilt the surface to redirect an incoming sustained repulsor blast. They barely thought. They just did. And trusted. Steve trusted Tony wasn't going to hit him by accident, just as Tony trusted Steve to reflect the blast away from him.
Saving the world, ultimately, is what had brought them then together, and after New York and Sokovia, it had become their shared life experience. Which is why Siberia, and all that time Steve had spent fighting against Tony ... it still weighs on him more days than not, because Steve knows he'd still make all the same choices except one. But given how he feels about Tony now, he knows how much harder it would be, and how much more it would hurt both of them.
Which is why now, it's so much harder for Steve to see Tony get hurt. Surely, after all the things Steve had put him through, Tony had reached his quota. Because he’s running towards Tony, he sees the pipe come down on Tony’s side, but there’s nothing for Steve to throw that would make a difference. But he’s almost there. In fact, in three more seconds he is there, and Steve doesn’t hesitate to lasso his arm around the attacker’s neck, putting him in a chokehold and pulling him away from Tony.
“Easy,” he says, almost to both of them. To the man losing his breath, it’s a threat. But to Tony, it’s to let him know that he’s finally here.
The A.S.S. member lets go of the pipe almost immediately and his hands fling up to claw at Steve’s arm. But once he’s sure the man is no longer tangled up with Tony, Steve flips and slams the assailant into the ground. Even he’s still conscious after that, the man isn’t going to be getting up anytime soon.
But this isn’t over. There’s four more guys coming and Steve sure as hell doesn’t plan on letting any of them bash a pipe into Tony. “You doin’ alright?” he asks, as he unlocks his own firearm out of its holster and hands it to Tony. Steve doesn’t like to use guns, but that doesn’t mean Tony can’t bring a gun to a pipe fight. He doesn’t say that it’s loaded with six laser shots — there’s no time and Tony probably already knows. Instead, as soon as Tony takes the weapon, Steve kicks up a tray from the floor and catches it in his hand. Then he takes one step forward and stands at the ready, shielding them both.
When Steve inevitably goes barging forward to meet their attackers, he trusts Tony to find the right targets. He always does.
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Compared to how far they’ve come, back then, well, they'd barely known each other. But that day, without any planning or even eye contact (which is impossible for Steve to establish by the way, if Tony's inside his suit), Steve knew to lift his shield and tilt the surface to redirect an incoming sustained repulsor blast. They barely thought. They just did. And trusted. Steve trusted Tony wasn't going to hit him by accident, just as Tony trusted Steve to reflect the blast away from him.
Saving the world, ultimately, is what had brought them then together, and after New York and Sokovia, it had become their shared life experience. Which is why Siberia, and all that time Steve had spent fighting against Tony ... it still weighs on him more days than not, because Steve knows he'd still make all the same choices except one. But given how he feels about Tony now, he knows how much harder it would be, and how much more it would hurt both of them.
Which is why now, it's so much harder for Steve to see Tony get hurt. Surely, after all the things Steve had put him through, Tony had reached his quota. Because he’s running towards Tony, he sees the pipe come down on Tony’s side, but there’s nothing for Steve to throw that would make a difference. But he’s almost there. In fact, in three more seconds he is there, and Steve doesn’t hesitate to lasso his arm around the attacker’s neck, putting him in a chokehold and pulling him away from Tony.
“Easy,” he says, almost to both of them. To the man losing his breath, it’s a threat. But to Tony, it’s to let him know that he’s finally here.
The A.S.S. member lets go of the pipe almost immediately and his hands fling up to claw at Steve’s arm. But once he’s sure the man is no longer tangled up with Tony, Steve flips and slams the assailant into the ground. Even he’s still conscious after that, the man isn’t going to be getting up anytime soon.
But this isn’t over. There’s four more guys coming and Steve sure as hell doesn’t plan on letting any of them bash a pipe into Tony. “You doin’ alright?” he asks, as he unlocks his own firearm out of its holster and hands it to Tony. Steve doesn’t like to use guns, but that doesn’t mean Tony can’t bring a gun to a pipe fight. He doesn’t say that it’s loaded with six laser shots — there’s no time and Tony probably already knows. Instead, as soon as Tony takes the weapon, Steve kicks up a tray from the floor and catches it in his hand. Then he takes one step forward and stands at the ready, shielding them both.
When Steve inevitably goes barging forward to meet their attackers, he trusts Tony to find the right targets. He always does.